In December 1908, the President of Haiti, Nord Alexis, attempted one last, desperate, act before leaving office; spiriting his family away to the safety of Jamaica, then New Orleans, to escape the rising tumult in the Haitian capital of  Port-au-Prince.  I give thanks that he was successful, for Nord Alexis was my ancestor.  His foresight, in getting his family out of Haiti and into the U.S., made my life, with the freedom, opportunity, and prosperity that only America can offer, possible.   My story is just one of many strange incidents connecting Haiti and the United States over the past hundred years.  With the devastation wreaked by the recent earthquake, it is clear that a new chapter in Haitian-U.S. relations is about to be written.

Americans should be proud of our quick response to the devastating earthquake that has wiped out virtually all services, businesses, schools, and institutions in Port-au-Prince.   Our President, Barack Obama, has moved government resources and emergency management experts to the area without hesitation, debate or delay.

Within hours, the US Air Force had reestablished air control and the long line of aid and assistance began to flow.   The Army’s 82, All-American Division,  is already on the ground helping to reassert law and order, as well as assist in the difficult job of distribution of relief aid.   Each day more planes arrive in Haiti, with even more assistance.

More impressively, American citizens and private companies have already raised millions in relief with more on the way.   Dozens of organizations such as the American Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services,  and Salvation Army, have already mobilized their resources and are on the ground providing relief efforts in a hundred different ways.

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While the Obama violinists’ supple wrists magically fiddle with their bows, the firefights continue in Afghanistan. General Stan McChrystal’s thorough assessment requesting 60,000-40,000 additional troops is now over seven weeks old and the Obama administration’s duplicity is becoming more evident by the day.
 
This amazing lack of dexterity is rather stunning given then candidate-Obama’s pledge that this was a war of necessity that we must win. Was that really just a headline grabber to convince moderate democrats that he would be strong on defense? It is increasingly appearing that way.

U.S. Forces Fire Onto Enemy Positions Near Pakistan Border

So let me be clear about the cost of delay:
 
First, while Obama has deliberated, troops he has previously described as “under resourced” are fighting and dying…and still under resourced.
 
Second, the Taliban are terrorizing civilians in those areas that lack significant or any coalition force presence and very courageous political leaders at the local governance level are left defenseless.
 
Third, we may miss the window of opportunity presented by the traditional Taliban operational pause in December and January.
 
Fourth, we exponentially complicate the deployment and reception of the 40,000 troops as ships have to be ordered, planes scheduled, operating bases built, and supplies delivered.

Fifth, had Obama acted promptly, he may have had additional troops to help with the election runoff agreed upon this week.
 
Sixth, with each day that Stan McChrystal’s request goes unanswered, the president gives the green light for his legions of political hacks and pudgy pundits, none of whom can hold McChrystal’s jock strap, to malign the general and minimize both his stature and his assessment. No biggie to McChrystal personally, but the enemy makes hay with this kind of thing in the terrorist recruiting world.

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